I am a liberal and proud of it. But don't be afraid, you can keep your guns and religion. I would just like to share my opinions and hope you will do the same.

Friday, December 11, 2015

God On Our Side

A burst of interest from Russia this past week. Hard to tell which post has generated the increase but I have seen an overall jump in hits on my 2011 post called Assisted Suicide which I wrote to mark the passing of Jack Kevorkian.

I recently began borrowing CDs from our local library. Among last week's bunch was Bob Dylan's 1964 effort called The Times They Are A-Changing. Of course, the song of that same name is very interesting, a symbol of the intensity of the 1960's in terms of social change. But the song that struck me the most is titled With God On Our Side. I had never heard it before, but strongly believe it is worth, not only discussing in light of today's issues, but also worth replicating the lyrics. See below.

Oh my name it is nothin’My age it means less The country I come from Is called the Midwest I’s taught and brought up there The laws to abide And that the land that I live in Has God on its side

Oh the history books tell it They tell it so well The cavalries charged The Indians fell The cavalries charged The Indians died Oh the country was young With God on its side

Oh the Spanish-American War had its day And the Civil War too Was soon laid away And the names of the heroes l’s made to memorize With guns in their hands And God on their side

Oh the First World War, boys It closed out its fate The reason for fighting I never got straight But I learned to accept it Accept it with pride For you don’t count the dead When God’s on your side

When the Second World War Came to an end We forgave the Germans And we were friends Though they murdered six million In the ovens they fried The Germans now too Have God on their side

I’ve learned to hate Russians All through my whole life If another war starts It’s them we must fight To hate them and fear them To run and to hide And accept it all bravely With God on my side

But now we got weapons Of the chemical dust If fire them we’re forced to Then fire them we must One push of the button And a shot the world wide And you never ask questions When God’s on your side

Through many dark hour I’ve been thinkin’ about this That Jesus Christ Was betrayed by a kiss But I can’t think for you You’ll have to decide Whether Judas Iscariot Had God on his side

So now as I’m leavin’I’m weary as Hell The confusion I’m feelin’Ain’t no tongue can tell The words fill my head And fall to the floor If God’s on our side He’ll stop the next war

Of course, Dylan wrote this in 1963 soon after the Cuban Missile crisis, and at the height of the Cold War when bomb shelters dotted the suburban landscape, and the nuclear weapons drills held in our elementary schools included hiding under the desk. Many in America lived in real fear of the end of the world, knowing that Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) was government policy for two nations. Yet, despite the angst of that time, millions of Americans held fast, knowing that the Communist philosophy was god-less, while America clearly had God on our side.

Now we are engaged in a war of ideology which seems to respect no national boundaries. Our primary enemy seems inspired by a fanatical version of Islam which includes killing those who do not share the belief knowing that the next life will bring eternal joy since God is on their side.

And we, of course, are just as sure that our drone dropped bombs, aerial assaults, vast sums of weapon provisions and restrictive immigration policies will result in the defeat of this enemy, since it is clear that in this conflict the true God is on our side.

Last week I saw an article referring to the cowardly response by Obama to the ISIS threat. And recently I watched a few minutes of a Fox opinion show where the host claimed that either Obama was incompetent, or that he hated America and wanted us to fail. Comically, a third view point was offered in which the President was called an ideologue trapped in the belief that America was at fault for the troubles in Syria and Iraq which is why he was so reticent to double down on more violence and sending troops. (The fact that we removed Iraq's government, horrible as it was, leaving a vacuum in which fanaticism was quick to fill, seemed lost on this commentator).

Perhaps the president feels as Dylan indicates in the last stanza of his song.

The words fill my head And fall to the floor If God’s on our side He’ll stop the next war

Unfortunately, I don't see that job as part of God's active area of influence. I believe that She has given us the tools and knowledge to end war, but has a hands off policy when it comes to further involvement. In the end, it is up to us to end the continuation of war amongst us. More violence will only beget violence.

Both sides need to understand that when it comes to killing other people, God is on neither side.

About Me

Joe Pugnetti is a resident of Perkasie who recently started sharing his political views through letters to the News-Herald opinion page. A proud liberal with an open mind, he is looking forward to creating some lively and civil discourse concerning the topics that most concern readers. To purchase his first story/blog compilation for your e-book, cut and paste this link
http://www.amazon.com/Short-Stories-wurdsfromtheburbs-Joe-Pugnetti-ebook/dp/B00F58LX8A

Still, I am ever hopeful that humans will continue to evolve towards an understanding that might does not make right, that making millions of dollars does not make one rich, and that leaving the world a better place, regardless of the scope of one's world, is the point of this life.